


Appendicitis

by mcgarrygirl78



Series: Thicker than Water [3]
Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Alternate Universe, Drama, F/M, Family, Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-10
Updated: 2014-10-10
Packaged: 2018-02-20 14:24:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2432036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Don’t think Emily isn’t going to call me on the fact that you called me her boyfriend before I called me her boyfriend.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Appendicitis

**Author's Note:**

> This story is told in the **Thicker than Water** universe. It’s for [](http://citymusings.livejournal.com/profile)[](http://citymusings.livejournal.com/)**citymusings** prompt **‘When he calls home to find out why she’s not home yet she doesn’t quite know how to tell him she's in the hospital’**. I shook it and stirred it a little.

Jason was nervous and trying not to let it show. She was supposed to be home nearly an hour ago and she wasn’t back yet. She hadn't called or anything, that wasn’t like her either. It was a chilly and rainy night in mid-October and she was out there. Where was she?

“Hotch, could you come take a look at this?” Jason called from his bedroom.

Hotch got up from the kitchen table, where he was working on his geometry, and went down the hall.

“What’s wrong?” he knew something wasn’t right as soon as he saw Jason’s face.

“I'm worried about Emily.” He said.

“She’s at the library with her Latin study group.”

“She said she would be home by seven and it’s almost eight.”

“Maybe they got wrapped up.” Hotch suggested.

“She would have called. She knows to call.”

“What are you thinking?”

“I'm thinking I'm about to lose my mind.” Jason said, running frantic fingers through his raven curls. “I'm worried…what if something happened to her out there?”

“What should we do?”

“I want to call the police but you know what kind of trouble that will bring. Firstly, they are not going to search for a 15 year old girl who’s been missing for 30 minutes and might not be missing at all. Secondly, that will bring a whole lot of attention to us, which I don’t want to do. Thirdly, she’s not emancipated yet. If this gets out of control it could ruin her whole case. There’s this part of me that feels like I'm worrying for nothing and there's this other part of me…”

“…That’s really worried.” Hotch finished his thought.

“Yeah.” Jason nodded. “Emily calls when she's going to be late. She knows it’s important that we keep track of each other; all of us. I just can't stop thinking about the way Derek found her. It’s so dangerous out there.”

“Jason, she's gonna be OK.” He put his hand on Jason’s shoulder as he felt dread creeping into his own belly. If something happened to Emily Hotch wasn’t sure how he would handle it. He wasn’t sure how he would make it OK for Derek and the little ones. She was family now…they needed her. “Maybe you should go to the library. It’s open until ten I think; you should go and check it out.”

“What if she's not there?”

“Call Dave Rossi.” Hotch replied. “I don’t know if he’s in town but he’s a cop, right? He’s FBI. And if he needs to pull punches with adults he can say he’s her guardian. I think Emily put him on that emergency contact paper the lawyer made her fill out.”

“Yeah, Rossi.” Jason nodded. “That’s a really good idea, Hotch. Dave will know how to help us.”

“Hey,” Morgan poked his head into the room. “I gotta run Spencer’s bath. Do you guys need to use the bathroom?”

“No.” they spoke in unison.

“What's going on?” Derek asked. He was giving them the eye.

This wasn’t the first time that Jason thought the kid was too damn perceptive. He called him into the room with his hand, told him to close the door, and told him what was happening.

“We have to find her.” Morgan said.

“We’re gonna call Dave Rossi.” Hotch replied.

“Good plan. What if he's off doing FBI stuff?”

“Then I'm going to the school library to look around.” Jason said.

“And you're sure she said she’d be home by seven?”

“She said seven thirty at the latest.” Jason replied. “It’s ten of eight. And I might be a little paranoid but I’d just feel better knowing she’s safe and sound.”

“Jason!” Penelope called him from the living room. “Uncle Dave is on the phone.”

“What?”

He rushed out of the bedroom and down the hall, quickly taking the phone from Penelope’s hands. He said hello and then said nothing at all. Hotch and Morgan made their way out of the bedroom and knew something was wrong. Jason had a shocked look on his face and had turned as white as a sheet. They weren't the only ones who noticed…everything in the room was suddenly moving in slow motion. This couldn’t be good.

“I'm on my way.” Jason finally said. “What hospital? Yeah, I'm on my way. Bye.”

He hung up the phone and ran to the closet to get his coat.

“Emily’s in the hospital; I have to go.”

With no warning, Penelope and Spencer burst into tears. Jason rushed to Penelope and Morgan rushed to Spencer. Gideon crouched down in front of the little girl.

“Its gonna be OK, Penelope.” He put his hands on her shoulders.

“Is she sick, Jason? Is she gonna D-I-E?”

“No, she's not gonna die.”

“Promise me. Promise me she won't die…Emily can't die. She’s my big sister now.”

“I know she is. I don’t like to make promises like that, Penelope; it’s not fair. But I do promise that as soon as I get to the hospital I’ll call you. That’s a promise.”

That didn’t console her. He had to leave her weeping in JJ’s arms and it broke his heart. Morgan was still calming Spencer while Hotch stood in the middle of the floor stunned. Jason threw his coat on and searched frantically for his car keys.

“Give her our love!” Hotch managed to shout as he rushed out the door.

***

Rossi was waiting for Jason at the ER entrance to George Washington Hospital. He didn’t want the poor kid to have a nervous breakdown trying to find them. He surely had enough on his mind. And if he told the other kids where he was going, there was an apartment full of worried people waiting for word.

“What happened?” Jason’s voice was frantic as Dave grabbed hold of him.

“She was at the library and began to have pains in her side. She had been having some problems all day but this time felt as if she was being stabbed. Her friends called 911 and an ambulance arrived. It was acute appendicitis; they rushed her here and into surgery.”

“How did you get here?”

“Somewhere between agony and anesthesia, Emily told them to call me. She said I was her next of kin, which I technically am until her emancipation comes through.”

“Why didn’t you call me immediately?”

Now Jason was indignant, which Dave expected. He loved the girl, it was so obvious. Poor kid, Rossi had been there before.

“Because I didn’t know what was wrong until I got here, Jason. I was not going to call you and send your world into a tailspin when it could’ve been a bloody nose. I needed to get all the information first and then call you.”

“Is she out of surgery?” Jason asked, calming some.

“She came out just a little while ago. They put her in recovery for about an hour or so and then are going to get her a room. She’ll be here a few days and then be good as new.”

“Appendicitis?”

“Yeah.” Rossi nodded. “Sometimes it does come on that quickly. Luckily her friends at the library acted fast and called 911.”

“We can't afford a hospital stay.” Jason replied. “This is a good hospital but…”

“Did I ask you for any money?”

“Uncle Dave…”

“Why do you do that, kid? Why do you call me Uncle Dave when you're about to reject me? I don’t know how I feel about that.”

“Its gonna cost a lot of money.”

“I know that. I have a lot of money.”

“And you want to spend it on us?” Jason asked.

“I love you guys...all of you. If Emily needs me, I'm gonna be there. She needs to be in a good hospital getting taken care of. If you can't spend your money on your family then it’s not worth having. Don’t worry about anything but Emily. I’ll handle everything else.”

“OK.” He nodded. “Thank you so much.”

“Of course.”

“Agent Rossi?” a nurse approached the two men. “Emily’s coming to; you can go in and see her for a little while.”

“Great, thanks. This is Jason, her boyfriend. You might see him around when I'm not. He’s 17, emancipated, and has my permission to spend as much time with Emily as he wants while she’s here.”

“Sure thing.” The nurse smiled. “She’s right down the hall.”

Both men nodded and started walking. Jason looked at Dave.

“Don’t think Emily isn’t going to call me on the fact that you called me her boyfriend before I called me her boyfriend.”

“How would she know?” Dave asked.

“Women always know.”

“You are so right about that.”

They walked into the dimly lit room, Jason rushing over to take Emily’s hand while Dave hung back. She opened her eyes and managed a smile for him.

“Hey you.” She whispered.

“Hey yourself. I was so worried about you, Katya. I was about to call out the cavalry. I mean it, men on horses and the whole nine yards.”

“I'm sorry. I got sick.”

“Don’t apologize.” He kissed her hand. “I'm just glad they got you here in time and you got them to call Dave. You're gonna be OK now.”

“Is everyone OK?” She asked.

“Everyone who?”

“Hotch, Morgan, JJ, Penelope, and Spencer. I don’t want them worrying about me; I'm gonna be fine.”

“They're a little scared but I’ll let them know that everything is gonna be fine. I wanted to see you with my own eyes before I called home though.”

“I'm as good as new. I have a pretty gnarly scar though. Apparently doctors don’t care about things like bikinis.” Emily smiled.

“You're always going to be beautiful. You need your rest now and soon they’ll move you to a room. I'm gonna stay as long as I can.”

“Please.” She squeezed his hand.

“Absolutely.” Jason leaned to kiss her cheek. “Dave’s here too.”

“Thank you.” Emily replied as Dave stepped forward.

“Of course. I rushed over as soon as they called. I don’t want you worrying about a thing but getting better, OK?”

“OK.”

Emily closed her eyes and when Jason was sure she was dozing off, he and Dave went back into the hallway.

“I'm gonna go now. I haven’t even had a chance to go home. I came here straight from Quantico. Luckily Erin doesn’t expect me by a certain time.”

“Will you tell her about Emily?” Jason asked.

“We don’t keep secrets; and she needs to know. Don’t worry Jason.” He squeezed his shoulder. “Everything is gonna be fine.”

“Yeah.” he nodded.

“You got quarters to call home?” Dave asked.

“Uh huh.”

“OK, well I'm gonna get going.”

“Goodnight, Dave.”

“Goodnight.”

Dave headed for the elevator and Jason headed for the payphone. He slid two quarters in, dialing the number. It barely rang before a breathless Penelope answered.

“Hi Penelope.”

“What took you so long? Is she OK?”

“She’s OK.”

“What happened?” she asked.

“Emily had an appendectomy.”

“Reid!” Penelope shouted. “What's an appledectomy?”

“Appendectomy.” Hotch corrected.

“Yeah, what's that?”

“It’s the surgery to remove the appendix.” Reid replied. “It’s an emergency procedure when the patient suffers from acute appendicitis and is done to prevent sepsis, or infection, which can cause death.”

“You don’t need an appendix?” Penelope asked Jason.

“Apparently Emily doesn’t.” he replied. “I want you to get in bed and get a good night’s sleep, Penelope. Emily is going to be OK. She has to stay in the hospital for a few days and then come home to rest but she’ll be fine.”

“Can you promise now?”

“I promise.”

“Thank you.”

“You're welcome. Put Hotch on the phone, OK?”

“OK. Tell Emily I love her bunches.”

“I will.”

“Hey Jason.” Hotch came on the line.

“She’s gonna be fine. Apparently she had an attack of appendicitis at the library and they called 911. The ambulance brought her here; she told them to call Dave. He didn’t call me until he knew for sure what was happening.”

“Did you talk to her?”

“Yeah. She’s in recovery and might have to be in the hospital a few days.”

“OK.”

“I don’t know how long I'm gonna be here tonight so I need you to take care of things at home.” Jason said.

“Of course, everything is under control.”

“The little ones are OK?”

“Yeah, I’ll talk to them and make sure. Don’t worry about anything but Emily.”

“OK. Thank you so much.”

“You don’t have to thank me. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“I’ll be quiet when I come in later.” Jason said.

“I appreciate it. See you later. Say goodnight to Jason guys.”

“Goodnight!” the exclaimed.

“Goodnight. Goodnight, Hotch.”

“Goodnight.”

Jason hung up the phone and headed back to the recovery room. The nurse told him that Emily had been moved to a room on the sixth floor.

“Thank you.” He headed to elevator.

Upstairs in her room, Jason pulled a chair up to the bed and sat down. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair and over his face. He needed to calm down; she was going to be alright.

“Penny for your thoughts.” She said.

He looked at her, putting on a smile.

“Tonight I had to try to remain calm as Penelope cried, afraid that you might D-I-E. By the way, I've been told to tell you that she loves you bunches.”

“She is such a little sweetheart. I love her bunches too. Jason, I'm so sorry I scared everyone.”

“It’s not your fault. Appendicitis isn’t exactly something you can judge.”

“I may have been ignoring some symptoms.” She whispered. “I may have…”

“Don’t.” Jason held up his hand. “It doesn’t matter anymore. You're gonna be alright and so is Penelope. That’s all that matters now. Though when you get better, I might choose to revisit this ignoring the symptoms thing.”

“So noted. Are you going to stay all night?”

“If they let me, but I don’t think they will. I’ll stay as long as I can.”

“I hate hospitals.” Emily muttered.

“You’ve stayed overnight before?”

“I had my tonsils out when I was ten. And after…”

“Oh.” Jason didn’t say anything else. He reached for her hand, lacing his fingers through hers. “Well I'm staying.”

“Good.” Emily closed her eyes. She hated the idea of waking up alone but she knew Jason would keep his word. He would stay as long as they let him. She wasn’t sure how long an appendectomy would keep her in the hospital but she wanted out as soon as possible.

Recovery would be easier, and better, at home. It might be hell sleeping on the air mattress but maybe she would be pitiful enough to get a pass in Jason’s big bed. He wouldn’t share it with her, which Emily understood. She would enjoy it as long as she could.

“Sweet dreams.” Jason said, leaning back in the chair again as he held on to her.

He was petrified when he got that phone call from Dave. So many worse case scenarios ran through his mind. If Jason was the king of anything it was the worse case scenario. He’d already lost so much, he couldn’t lose Emily. It was about more than him; this was about family.

The way Penelope and Spencer cried broke his heart. He had comforted them both many times before but he couldn’t protect them from everything. Reality was a kick in the nuts sometimes. But they were kids and had been through enough…something had to give.

This time things were going to be OK. Jason could take a deep breath and relax. All was well today. Tomorrow was tomorrow. He was holding on and all was well today.

***

  



End file.
